


Requiem for a Nightmare

by Olivier_Mira



Category: Noblesse (Manhwa)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 11:39:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10696254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Olivier_Mira/pseuds/Olivier_Mira
Summary: Frankenstein lost Rai once. It still haunts him.





	Requiem for a Nightmare

**Best read accompanied by Mozart Requiem in D Min K. 626, III. Sequentia: _Confutatis,_ followed by Mozart, _Ave verum corpus,_ K 618.**

It was a particular feeling, quite unlike any other, being choked by the Dark Spear. As it crawled up his neck, like an insect boring holes into his skin, Frankenstein shuddered. Hot white pain shot up his spine, nearly knocking him out. _And yet, I suppose this is no more than I deserve,_ he thought.

 _Yesssss,_ the horrible voices hissed. _Why should we be in torment, while you run free? We will take what is ours. Die! Die, you miserable excuse for a human being! You are no longer human. We hate you! You are a monster and deserve to be devoured by monsters. We will take you with us!_

_quantus tremor est futurus quando judex est venturus cuncta stricte discussurus_

NO… _STOP!_ That wasn’t true, was it? That he was nothing but a monster? It couldn’t be true.

_confutatis maledictis flammis acribus addictis flammis acribus addictis_

_STOP._ He grasped the sides of his head, tearing at his hair. Where was it, where was it? There was… there was another voice. He knew there was another voice. A sweet, melodious voice that sang a different tune. Where… where was that voice? The voice that liberated him, that pulled him out of this hell. Where was it? Where…

_Voca me voca me cum benedictis_

He could almost hear it, almost find it… But then it suddenly came down on top of him, like ten thousand pounds of lead: the voice was gone. His Master was gone. Gone, nowhere to be found. Disappeared. Without a trace.

He’d searched for days, till days and nights blurred together in a haze, till days became weeks and weeks became months and months became years. He searched until his fingers bled; he searched until he collapsed from utter exhaustion. He searched until he could no longer go on. And then he kept searching. Nothing. _Nothing._ He finally had to admit it: Cadis Etrama di Raizel was gone, and he, Frankenstein, was no longer worthy of his Master.  

_quid sum miser tunc dicturus quem patronum rogaturus cum vix justus sit securus_

The scales crept up his neck and he fell to his knees, gagging, choking. _No!_ But there was nothing he could do. The hideous voices continued without abating. _You deserve nothing, nothing! Curse you! Curse the day you were born!_

_confutatis maledictis flammis acribus addictis confutatis flammis acribus addictis_

But fighting it was becoming too much. He was beyond weary, beyond exhausted, stumbling along in a vague grey land of nothing but emptiness and terror. _I’ve killed too many in my rage and anger. It’s my fault. They will soon overwhelm me. There’s nothing I can do. Maybe they’re right. Maybe I should just give up and die. There’s nothing here for me now. Nothing…_

_Voca me voca me cum benedictis_

No, there had to be a way, there had to. He stopped fighting it. For a second, just a fraction of a second, the voices ceased… and he heard it. It was a hum, a quiet murmur, and it seemed to come from deep in the earth. The silent thought appeared: _My Master sleeps._ But he wasn’t _gone._ Frankenstein could still feel their bond, though the signal was weak. And it might have been his imagination, but he felt… something. Some slight frisson along that line, like a faint heartbeat dancing across a monitor. There and then gone. But it had definitely been there.

Frankenstein felt his courage returning, but the dark souls had also redoubled their efforts. _This is nothing! You are nothing! Die! Die for what you did to us! We are in agony, and you shall feel our pain! DIE!_

He fought for his life, grasping at anything and everything. But it wasn’t enough. The slime moved up his chin, over his lips, into his mouth, and he was now not only choking, but retching. He now lay on the ground, uselessly pounding the earth with bloody fists. _I can’t die this way, I can’t! Not before I’ve heard my Master’s voice one more time. I can’t, I can’t…!_

**…**

**_Frankenstein._ **

**…**

_What was that? Could it be…?_

**…**

**_Frankenstein. Wake up._ **

**…**

_Master?_

**_…_ **

A cool hand was suddenly on his forehead, and the horrible voices immediately ceased. _Master!_ Frankenstein clung to Raizel’s hand like a lifeline. He cradled it next to his cheek, already feeling the calming energy of his Master flowing through him. He shuddered all over and then, abruptly, woke up. In in his own house, in his own bed, drenched in sweat, his clawed fists full of ripped sheets.

Pained crimson eyes met his and he would have cried out, but his breathing was still labored. Disoriented thoughts jumbled in his mind like a cascade: _Master. He’s hurting. I’ve hurt him. Nightmare. It was just a nightmare. Not real. He’s here, he’s HERE, he’s okay. We’re okay. But I’ve hurt him. He’s upset. I’ve upset him. I didn’t mean to. I never meant…_

“I’m… I’m s-sorry, Master. I’m so sorry,” he coughed, his voice like gravel in his mouth.

“Frankenstein.” Raizel moved to sit on the bed next to him. He reached up and gently moved a wet lock of hair from Frankenstein’s face. “I’m here.”

Frankenstein lost it. He buried his head in his Master’s neck and clung to him desperately, shaking. “Y-you were gone; I was back there; I was all alone; it was ch-choking me; it was _killing_ me...!”

“Shhh. I’m here.”

Frankenstein could feel his Master’s delicate hand gently stroking his hair, his arms entwined around him. He breathed it all in. _Master. Safe. Home._ Every single cell in Frankenstein’s body responded to Raizel, like a gentle breeze with the fragrant scent of cherry blossoms washing over him, wave after wave. _Safe._

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, Frankenstein memorizing the curves of his Master’s face, lest he ever lose him again. He trembled involuntarily at the thought and Raizel tightened his grip, gently pressing his head on top of Frankenstein’s, breathing into his hair.

**_I’m here._ **

Frankenstein thought of those desperate times, when all he wanted was this, _this,_ but it was the one thing he couldn’t have, and it very nearly drove him mad. The only thing that kept him going was the fact that he knew his Master was still alive, and he would never – _never –_ abandon him. So he had to keep going, he _had to,_ because the thought of Raizel waking up and finding Frankenstein gone was too unbearable to contemplate.

But Frankenstein had made a solemn vow to himself: that if the gods had mercy and brought his Master back to him, he would _never_ lose him again. Not if he had to tear Muzaka limb from limb, not if he had to _murder every single living creature on this planet - !_

“Frankenstein. Come.”

Raizel gently helped him to stand and Frankenstein shook his head, dislodging the painful thoughts. Taking his Master’s hand, he followed him through the silent house. As they stepped out onto the balcony, the sun was just beginning to spread its rose-colored tendrils across the city. A gust of wind blew back his Master’s dark hair, and Frankenstein was reminded of the great window in Lukedonia, and of how many years Raizel stood in front of that window, alone. _I won’t let it happen again. I_ won't.

Raizel moved closer to him, whispering softly in his ear, “Frankenstein. You’re here.” He pressed a tender kiss onto Frankenstein’s temple ever so slightly, a whisper of a kiss.

Frankenstein’s vision went blurry, his eyes suddenly wet.

“Master.”

He raised his hand to hastily brush away his shameful tears, but Raizel stopped him, catching his hands with his own. He pressed their foreheads together, squeezing Frankenstein’s hands in his.

“Frankenstein. It’s okay.”

His breath caught. He stood quivering for a moment, then Frankenstein put his head on his Master’s shoulder and wept. He wept for all those years alone; he wept for all his Master’s pain; he wept for everything he couldn’t do for him. Raizel held him, stroking his back lightly.

**_It’s okay. It’s going to be okay._ **

“M-Master, I’ve dirtied your suit jacket…” He pulled away, his anxiety suddenly spiked.

“Frankenstein. You bought me 500 of them.”

At that, Frankenstein threw back his head and laughed gleefully into the morning sun. “This is true.” He returned to Raizel’s warm embrace.

“Master. I love you.”

“And I you.”

No matter how many times Frankenstein heard him say it, it still sent a thrill through his entire body. He practically purred in his Master’s arms.

“But Frankenstein.”

“Yes, Master?”

“The sun has risen. And there is no tea.”

“Right away, Master.”

Frankenstein lead Raizel to the couch and went to fetch the supplies for tea. _He’s here. He’s alive. We’re together._ Everything else in the wide, wide world could wait. At least until after tea.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: For the full experience, start the _Ave verum corpus_ as soon as Rai appears. Leonard Bernstein for preference.
> 
> Latin is from the Requiem text. Translation mine: 
> 
> _Quantus tremor est futurus quando judex est venturus, cuncta stricte discussurus:_ "Such a tremor there will be when the judge shall come, to strike down all manner of things harshly."  
>  _Confutatis, maledictis, flammis acribus addictis… voca me cum benedictis:_ "When the damned have been confounded, consigned to the bitter flames… Call me among the blessed."  
>  _Quid sum miser tunc dicturus? quem patronum rogaturus? cum vix justus sit securus?_ "What shall I, wretch that I am, say then? What protector shall I call upon, when even the just are barely secure?"
> 
> In reference to Mozart's Requiem, for those of you familiar with it, _quando iudex..._ is from the _Dies Irae_ and _quid sum miser..._ is from the _Tuba Mirum_. I imagine all of them running through Frankenstein's feverish brain at once. The _voca me_ in the _Confutatis_ represents both Frankenstein calling to Raizel ("call me"), but also Raizel calling out to Frankenstein to pull him out of the Dark Spear.


End file.
